


The Hidden

by aeryntheofficial



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Death, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mentions of Violence, Mild Smut, brief nudity, cursing, violence against animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22388908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeryntheofficial/pseuds/aeryntheofficial
Summary: **Cross-posted from my Tumblr account @aerynwrites**When the Mandalorian lands on a planet with the intent to lay low with the Child, the last thing he expects is you saving his ass and taking him into your small village. From that moment, Dyn Jarren finds himself struggling with his creed and his natural desires to be close to someone.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Reader, Dyn Jarren/Reader, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 94





	1. The Chroigs

**Author's Note:**

> *I initially wrote and finished this series on my Tumblr account before the TV show was completed. Therefore, His name is misspelled as 'Dyn Jarren' instead of 'Din Djarin' due to not knowing the canon spelling*

Dyn trudged through the thick jungle, the small green child held securely in his arms. He had found this planet several weeks ago, continuing to try and avoid the ruthless bounty hunters after his charge. He cursed silently as he pushed through the brush attempting to get them both back to the ship.

Why did he choose the jungle planet again?

He shook his head absentmindedly and continued his trek. The small bundle in his arms cooed impatiently grasping at his hand.

He sighed, looking down at the large black orbs staring up at him, “Yes I know, we’re almost back to the ship.”

The child gurgled, seemingly content with what the Mandalorian said, and looked forward just as they broke through into a clearing, their ship two hundred yards away.

Dyn sighed contentedly, “See I told you it-“he cut himself off as he heard rustling in the foliage on either side of the clearing. He stops moving, assessing the situation as his hand rests cautiously on his blaster. Before he can react two large canine beast lunges from the forest surrounding them.

They’re like nothing the man had ever seen before.

They’re large with green fur and eyes as yellow as the sun, and more worryingly, two teeth as long as his arm protruding from their mouths. He pulls the child closer to himself as the beast’s circle around him.

For the first time in a long time, Dyn doesn’t know what to do. He can’t attack both dogs at once and can’t attack one without putting the child at risk. He sees the beast move to an attack position and finally pulls the blaster from his belt. But before he can use is a small metal canister lands between him and the beasts with a small thud. The animal looks at it curiously before the contraption starts spewing a bright blue smoke. The animals sniff curiously but are quickly affected by whatever chemical was in the canister. The huff loudly and cry in confusion before running off into the dark forest.

Dyn quickly puts distance between himself and the smoke, while he is unaffected because of his helmet, the kid is unprotected. He stumbles slightly in his haste and falls to the ground. The crunching of leaves in front of him has him quickly pointing his blast in the same direction.

“Woah there buddy, calm down!” he quickly spots you standing in front of him, hands held up in surrender. Your appearance is non-threatening, you wear dark green and brown clothing with a black cape much like his own around your shoulders, but a hood and piece of cloth covers your head, mouth, and nose. the only weapons you seem to have are a staff and several canisters hooked to your belt.

He lowers his blaster, somewhat appeased you won’t hurt him and offer your hand to him. he brushes off the gesture and stands on his own, cautiously putting his blaster back in his holster.

“What was in that canister?” he asks gruffly.

You huff and cross your arms, “I feel like a thank you is in order.” You say sarcastically.

He takes a threatening step forward, “What was in it?”

You step back, a slight frustration taking over, and rip your mask from your face, “What does it matter what was in it, you have a helmet and I just saved your ass!” how could he be so ungrateful?

He takes another step forward about to demand once again but a soft cooing sound interrupts him. you are caught off guard by the small sound and point confusedly at the small brown bundle in his arms.

“Is that why you want to know what was in those canisters?”

The Mandalorian sighs frustratedly, finally holstering his weapon, “Yes.” he states simply.

You have to stifle a giggle and wave your hand absentmindedly, “nothing bad” you reassure, “just some local plants and herbs that the Chroigs do not like.”

“Chroigs?”

You shrug, craning your head slightly to try and get a better look at the bundle in Dyn’s arms, “Those things I just saved you from,” when Dyn moved to shield the child from your eyes you sighed and relaxed, “something which you still haven’t thanked me for by the way.”

He pauses for a moment, looking towards you curiously, “Thank you.”

You nod matter-of-factly an appeased smile on your face, “You’re welcome.”

The Mandalorian just nods before turning on towards his ship and walking away. You start to let him go before a strong curiosity and somewhat empathetic feeling washes over you. He clearly was not from around here, and someone who isn’t from here won’t last long.

“Hey!” you call and jog to catch him before he enters his ship.

He turns slightly towards you as you come to a stop, “Um,” you begin awkwardly, “I uh-I have extra room at my house in the village.”

Dyn doesn’t say anything but turns to face you fully now.

You roll your eyes and huff, “ look all I’m saying is, this place isn’t a vacation spot. If you’re looking to stay a while it’s better to be around people who know the place rather than try and deal with this all on your own,” you gesture to the child, “especially with a kid.”

Dyn looks from you, the small yet powerfully clever woman who saved him, down to the child in his arms. He sighs, looking up at you and nods.

You smile warmly happy that he accepted your offer, “Great!” you stick your hand out, “My names (Y/N).”

The Mandalorian hesitantly reaches his hand out to grasp yours and shakes it firmly, but doesn’t produce a name.

You notice the warmth his hand gives off, even through the gloves, before he drops it. You tilt your head curiously, “No name?”

He shakes his head, “No name.”

You splutter and follow him into the ship as sets the child down carefully and starts to gather various supplies into a large backpack, “Well what am I supposed to call you?” you ask exasperated.

“Whatever you want to call me.”

You open your mouth to tell him that is the stupidest thing ever and ask why he can’t just give you his name, when he shrugs on his bag and picks up the bundle once again. And that’s when you finally see the adorable little creature. You practically melt at the sight of the small green child and move towards the man holding him. you coo sweetly at him as he grasps for your fingers.

“Oh maker…” you let him grasp your finger tentatively and scream internally when the child lets out a laugh, “He is so adorable! Can I please hold him?” you look hopefully up at the Mandalorian but brushes past you and out of the ships door.

“No.”

You follow behind him quickly as he shuts the ship and look at him as you start to lead the way to your home, “But why not?” you whined, “I promise I’ll be super careful!”

“No.” he said more firmly.

You sighed and rolled your eyes but didn’t press the issue anymore. You continue to walk in silence, and you spare a quick glance at the duo beside you. You’re still puzzled as to why a Mandalorian is on your plant and has a child with him. you have no clue as to what the answer is, and you have a feeling that it’s not going to be easy to get the man to open up about why they are here.

You smile coyly as you look ahead once more.

Challenge accepted.


	2. The Connection

It didn’t take you and the Mandalorian long to reach your small village, a mere hour walk from where his ship was parked. He had offered to fly you all there to make it quicker, but you refused, not wanting to draw attention to your location and you didn’t know if there was enough space to land.

Dyn took in his surroundings as the trio walked into the small jungle village. The first thing he noticed were the guards posted on the outskirts of camp, and he felt his guard go up slightly but was quickly appeased as the guard waved calmly to you.

“Welcome back (Y/N)!” the woman said cheerily before spotting the Mandalorian and a cautious look crossed her face, “Who do you have there?”

You chuckled and gestured to Dyn, “Just some tourists I saved from the pair of Chroigs we’ve been dealing with.” You teased as you nudged his arm playfully.

He brushed you off as the guard laughed, “Well, hopefully you scared them off for good.” She looked towards the back of the camp at a group of farmers picking through a destroyed field, “They destroyed half out crop last night,” she scowled, “They’ve been braver than usual.”

You put a comforting hand on her shoulder, “We’ll figure it out Ariah,” you remove your hand and motion for Dyn to follow you as you start to walk further into the village, “we always do!” you call over your shoulder.

Dyn hears the woman grunt in response before he follows you into a small elevated hut you had clambered stairs into. He couldn’t get his mind off those beasts, how have you all survived this long with them alive and prowling around? He’s brought from his thoughts as you unbuckle your utility belt and hang it on a hook before looking back at him spreading your arms a wide smile on your face.

“Home sweet home.”

Dyn looks around the humble abode momentarily. There’s not much to the square wooden hut, just a few trunks for storage, windows on each walls the curtains fluttering slightly in the breeze, and then two hammocks hanging from the ceiling. But no beds.

Even without seeing his face you can sense his confusion and hesitance the situation. You rub the back of your neck sheepishly and shift from foot to foot.

“I’m sorry it’s not much, and about the hammocks,” You lightly tug the woven fabric, “it’s just with all the bugs and stuff we have to sleep off the ground and then no one has a full kitchen since we all –“

“It’s fine.” He states.

You stop your rambling and look up at him and nod your head, “Okay.” You shove your hands into the pockets of your pants when he doesn’t say anything else before sighing loudly.

“Well I guess I’ll get out of your hair and let you settle in” you walk towards the door to leave the two alone before his voice stops you once more.

“I can help you.”

His voice startles you every time, as ashamed as you are to admit it so soon, it’s weirdly attractive. A low and husky sound each time he talks through his mask. You turn to face hum slightly, “what?”

“I can help you with those…Chroigs.”

You tilt your head slightly, “Wasn’t I the one who helped you earlier?” you smirked.

The man sighed, “I was surprised,” he defended, “And I also had the kid with me. If we can come up with a structured plan, I can help you get rid of them.”

You raised your head slightly taking in what he said. Could he really help you? He had weapons, a ship and very nice beskar armor, all things you’re sure he didn’t get without work.

“Who are you anyway?” you question, curiosity getting the best of you, “I mean you’re obviously out of your element, but you seem more than capable. So, I just want to know how a Mandalorian, one of the best fighters in the galaxy, ended up with a small child.”

At the mention of the child you looked down at the small figure in his arms only to find him staring straight at you, a curious look on its face. For some reason in that moment you felt an invisible connection to this small creature.

“it’s not important.” he avoided the question and interrupted your thoughts.

As much as his avoidance bothered you, you were shrugged and turned to exit the house once more, “I’ll be outside at the farm if you need anything.”  
//  
Dyn watched you exit, wariness still nagging at his mind. He wasn’t used to this. This caring and hospitable nature from others. For the most part everyone he’s seen recently has tried to kill him. He like this. While he wasn’t completely sure they were out of danger yet, he could get used to the idea of laying low for a while. He watched as the little kid waddled around the small hut, curiously touching everything he could. He starts to carefully unpack their belongings stowing them in an empty trunk he spotted near one of the hammocks.

Soon after he had unpacked, he was about to get the kid and find you at the farm, but a loud commotion from outside caught his attention. He quickly picked up the child and strode out of the home towards the loud voices. He saw a small group of people surrounding a large man who was yelling, who he soon realized to be you.

“What were you thinking? Bringing a stranger into our home?” the man yells, it didn’t take a genius for Dyn to put the pieces together.

He starts to walk closer to the group as you jab your staff into the tall man’s chest, “Because Jaleer, he needed help! We’ve never turned away people in need.” You spit.

“No, we haven’t turned people away. But that is a Mandalorian! They are nothing but killers and bounty hunters only out to help themselves, He’s going to bring nothing but trouble.” The man argued standing taller to tower over you even more.

While some of what the man said was true, Dyn couldn’t help the small sting he felt at the man’s words. Is that all anyone thought of him?

Jaleer’s words had angered you your voice was raised to a considerably higher level, “No Jaleer! He’s…different. He’s not like that!” you defended.

“You’ve known him for a couple hours (Y/N) you know nothing about him or why he’s here." At this point the man, Jaleer as Dyn had learned glanced around him and spotted the man in the gleaming beskar armor. Jaleer shoved through the crowd roughly and stalked towards him. Dyn quickly set the kid on a box a few feet away before standing to face the man.

While the Mandalorian was tall, Jaleer still towered over him; a wall of pure muscle, black patterned tattoos covering his arms and a distrusting angry sneer covering his face. However, despite the height difference the man in question stands unmoving as Jaleer jabs an accusing finger at him.

“Why are you here Mandalorian?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your concern.” He replies coolly.

Jaleer takes a threatening step forward, “wrong answer.”

Dyn sees the man move to lunge at him but he is swift to move out of the way blocking the blow easily as he steps to the side. The large man stumbles as his momentum moves him forward but turns to face the Mandalorian once more, not keen on being made a fool of. Dyn just tilts his head in a condescending manner. Jaleer lets out an angry grunt before he grabs a staff similar to yours from his back and swings it down with much force towards the bounty hunter. Dyn lunges to the side, narrowly missing the weapon as it whistles past his head. Before Jaleer can recover Dyn grasps the staff and rips it from the larger man’s grip. He spins around and knocks the man’s feet from underneath him in one fluid movement. Jaleer lets out a breathless grunt as he topples to the ground, wind ripped from his lungs.

The Mandalorian turns to face the crowd, you are standing at the forefront mouth agape at the quick an efficient way he took out the largest man in the village.

“I am not here to cause any trouble,” he states, “I am just here to help in exchange for shelter and food. I was attacked by the same beast that plague your village and I will help you get rid of them for good.” The man looks from you, who has a small smile on your face, back to Jaleer who has finally stood from his place on the ground.

He offers the staff back to the man who snatches it from his grip angrily before jabbing it in his direction.

“This doesn’t change anything Mando, I still don’t trust you as far as I can throw you.” He seethes.

The Mandalorian just shrugs as he turns to pick up the child once more, “Which isn’t very far from what I can tell.” He mutters to himself.

Jaleer mutters and turns to you once more, “You better watch where you step around here girly, I still don’t trust you either.”

You roll your eyes and shove past the burly man, “Drop it Jaleer. I’ve earned my keep."

You hear a loud huff and then fading footsteps as you walk over to the Mandalorian, “I’m sorry about him,” you apologize, “he’s a jerk.”

“Thank you.” Dyn says as you both walk back to your hut.

You turn to him as you reach your door, a confused look adorning your features, “What for?”

He shrugs lightly, “For defending me.”

You smile and rest your hand on his arm gently, trying to ignore the small spark you feel, “of course, you didn’t deserve what he said. Jaleer is just a jackass who is overprotective of his people.”

He just nods before climbing the steps of your hovel, you are following closely behind as dusk begins to settle on the encampment. When you walk in you remove one of the hammocks from the ceiling and start to walk it into a back room he hadn’t noticed before. You push the curtain aside to enter before rehanging the hammock and coming back into the main room.

“You can sleep in there if you’d like,” you offer, “again it’s not much but I know your people like your privacy and the whole - “ you pause to gesture vaguely as your face and head, “helmet thing.” You finish awkwardly.

“Thank you.”

You nod and open your mouth to say something, but a small whispery yawn fills the silence. Both of your attentions are drawn to the child still in the man’s arms. You seem to startle slightly, remembering something as you turn around a few times looking for the item on your mind. Dyn watches as you let out a quiet ‘ah-ha!’ and pull a small basket from underneath the small counter and grab some spare cloth from a nearby trunk neatly tucking it into the basket.

“For the kid,” you explain as you walk to the back room once more, the Mandalorian following you once more.

You set the basket down in the corner of the room before turning to leave, accidentally running right into the bounty hunter. You gasp as your forehead connects with the cool metal of his chest plate and take a step back a blush creeping up your cheeks.

“Sorry, I wasn’t- “you cut yourself off, and look to the child in his arms, “I can uh, put him in his bed real quick” you offer.

You see the man tense up slightly and mentally kick yourself, “I just meant-“ you wave behind you to the bed, “Since I’m over here you know…” you trailed off, looking anywhere but the man in front of you, still overwhelmed by the lack of space between you two.

You are about to slip past him when you seem him offer the small bundle to you. You hesitantly reach out and accept the child and are once again met with an instant connection as you hold him and gaze at him. his eyes are closed, and his little mouth is slightly parted as he breaths slowly, sleep having overcome him. You smile sweetly as you run a finger over his large ears. He is seriously so cute. You are suddenly aware once again of the closeness of your guest as he clears his throat.

You take in a deep breath and turn around to place the child gently in the basket. As you stand up, he whimpers slightly in his sleep and seems to reach out as if searching for something before settling once again. You turn back around, careful not to run into the Mandalorian again but instead of standing you see him sitting in the hammock. You smile at him and move to leave the room pulling the curtain aside. You hesitate before you completely exit and turn to face the man behind you.

“What he said wasn’t true you know.” You say quietly.

You see the man tilt his head slightly and continue as he remains silent.

“What Jaleer said earlier,” you explain, “I don’t think you’re just some bounty hunter or killer.” You look over at the sleeping child once more, “The kid proves that. Goodnight Mando.”

Dyn watches stunned as you leave the room the green curtain swishing closed behind you. You continue to surprise him. He smiles a small smile and slowly removes his helmet once he is sure you won’t return. He slips out of his armor and gear and settles into the surprisingly comfortable hammock and relaxes for the first time in a long time.

As sleep starts to take over him the only thing, he can think of is the fact that he likes the name ‘Mando’ on your lips a whole lot more than he expected.


	3. The Trap

Dyn woke the following morning slowly, feeling fully rested for the first time in what felt like years. He heard you humming a sweet tune from the front of the house and for once he wasn’t worried about the next job, or the days actions just to stay alive. He felt somewhat at peace as he opens his eyes and sat up slowly, swinging his legs over the edge of the hammock, your sweet song still floating through the room. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and turned to see if the kid was still sleeping. 

He wasn’t there.

All signs of sleep and peace were sapped from his body as he quickly stood to search for the child. He almost forgot his helmet in his haste but pulled it on quickly before ripping the curtain aside to exit the room. 

“The kid. he’s gone! Someone must have –“ he looks around the room frantically voice uncharacteristically wavering in worry before he stops short as he spots you and the child sitting on the floor of the hovel. The child is holding a small bowl of some type of food looking at him curiously and you had stopped your sewing you were doing and sat up straighter. Your eyes were blown wide in surprise at the frantic entrance of the usually calm and collected bounty hunter.   
He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the child unharmed and stood straighter regaining his composure, “Oh.”

You let out a soft giggle at the man’s concern for the child and picked up your project once more, “I have some food for you as well. I can bring it to you in a few minutes once you’re ready.” 

At your words the Mandalorian remembered what he was wearing, or rather what he was not wearing. At some point in the night the humidity of the jungle planet had overwhelmed him, and he had abandoned his shirt. So he was standing in the middle of your home in nothing but his pants and his helmet. He was suddenly very glad he was wearing said helmet so you couldn’t see the blush of embarrassment creep up his cheeks. He nods curtly, not trusting his voice, and returns to his room. 

//

You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding as Mando’s figure disappeared behind the curtain. You felt a blush creep up your cheeks as you could not get the sight of his bare torso out of your mind. You immediately took note of the tan skin covering rippling muscles built from years of intensive Bounty work, along with scars scattered across his body. You frowned slightly at the thought of where hey came from. He’s had a hard life. The cooing of small figure in front of you snapped you back to reality and you saw large brown eyes staring at you curiously, bowl now empty.

“What?” you asked defensively, “it’s not my fault you’re dad is ripped,” you excuse pointedly, returning to your sewing as the child giggles at your response.  
“and probably handsome under that helmet.” You mutter to yourself.

“What was that?” 

You whip around and are met with the tall figure of Mando standing a few feet from you, back to his regular armored self. Your face is on fire but you brush him off and stand up gesturing to the child toddling around.

“I uh-was just talking to the kid.” You stammer.

He seems satisfied with your answer but doesn’t move from his place. Then you remember his food still sitting on the counter.  
“Oh!” you turn to grab the bowl carefully handing it to him along with a spoon, “Here you go.”

He takes the bowl from your hands fingers brushing softly and looks at the contents, not having seen this food before.  
“It’s just porridge, with some of our local fruits.” You explain. 

“Thank you.” His says sincerely.

You smile and nod picking up the shirt once more and move to exit the home, “I’ll be outside on the steps if you need anything, I’ve been trying to fix this shirt for days now.” 

You only earn a nod from the man behind you and you take that as your cue to leave.   
//  
After Mando had finished eating he walked out of the house to join you, the child waddling behind him. You don’t stop your work as he comes to stand by your seated form. He finally gets a good view of the village and how it’s laid out. There’s only about a dozen or so other houses, two small farm plots; one at each end of the village, and then several places for drinking water. He also takes note of a larger building on the opposite side of the camp, which he dedices must be where the food is made. All of this is surrounded by a small clear area followed by dense forest on all sides. 

“We’ll need to strategize a plan.”

You stop your work as he speaks and look up at him, hand shielding your eyes, “Well what do you propose we do?”

The Mandalorian pauses for a moment as he looks again around the small community, thinking. He finally points to a small area just on the edge of the jungle across the camp from where you all are sitting.

“See that small opening in the trees?”

You stand and look to where he is pointing, “Yes, what about it?” you turn to face him.

“We can set up a trap right there in order to immobilize them, hopefully giving us time to kill them.” He states assuredly, “If we can get everyone to work together, we could build a pit trap, place branches over it and then hopefully they will fall into it.”

You look from the man standing next to you and the back over to the area in question, visualizing the construction in your mind. It could work.  
You nod a determined look crossing your face, “We can do it,” you pause, “But how do we get them here? We can’t go out into the jungle and lure them in, it’s too dangerous.”

“Well they attacked your farm and animals the other day right?” you nodded confirming the fact so he continued, “Then they’ll do it again, especially if we make it interesting enough.”

You nodded in understanding before climbing down the steps, “Okay great. I’ll go gather everyone else so we can tell them the plan.”  
//  
“Are you kidding me?” Jaleer snapped, clearly unpleased with the information he was just told, “You want to lead them straight into our camp? That will get us all killed.” He directed the last part at the Mandalorian.

Everyone else had already dispersed at your instruction to begin preparations. While some of them shared Jaleer’s concern the hope of ridding themselves of the beasts for good out weighed those thoughts and they started to build the traps. 

“It’s going to work.” Mando stated plainly.

Jaleer crossed his arms defiantly, “How can you be so sure? They could come in from any direction not just where your placing the trap.” He argued.  
At this point you piped into the conversation, “That’s why we’re building spike barriers along the outskirts of the camp except where the trap will be. They will most likely take the past of least resistance and go through the are where the traps are.” You assured.

Jaleer still looked unsure of the plan as he gazed at the Mandalorian disdainfully. You stepped forward in front of Jaleer and spoke.  
“Please, Jaleer.” You pleaded, “I know how you feel about me and Mando, but you have to trust us. This will work.” You insisted.

The burly man looked from you to the bounty hunter still not a hundred percent but let out a sigh of defeat, “What do you want me to do?”

You instructed Jaleer to help the group digging the pit trap before turning to face Mando once more.  
“I really hope we didn’t just get all these people killed.” you said, “These animals are not fun to deal with when they are trapped in a corner.”

You worried your lip between your teeth as you looked around at the people you called family as they work diligently to fulfill the plan you both had concocted. while you felt confident in said plan there was always the chance that something could go horribly wrong.

“It will work.” The man said, more sincere this time.

You nodded, worry still eating at your mind, and turned to face the village.

“well we better get to work.”  
//  
It was now nightfall and everything had been finished. Jaleer had the clever idea of putting sharpened spears at the bottom of the trap to hopefully injure if not kill the beasts in one fell swoop. You watched as the final branch was placed over the cavity in the ground and took note of the two guards returning from leaving a trail of food from the jungle into the camp. The ones who were unable to help defend were hidden in various huts on the other side of the village far away from the action. It took much convincing on your part to let the kid stay with the others but after a convincing argument from you and the insistence from various children who were eager to hang out with the small green creature he eventually relented. Meanwhile, yourself, Mando, Jaleer, and the guards were hidden behind barricades further away from the trap but close enough to defend if things got out of hand. Now all that was left to do is wait. You hoped the Chroigs were close enough to smell the tantalizing bait left for them and dumb enough to fall for their plan. 

You shifted nervously in your crouched position staff in hand and various knives strapped to your belt. Mando glanced at you out of the corner of his eye, taking note of your slight trembling hands and furrowed brows. Were you afraid?

He reached a cautious hand and laid it reassuringly on your shoulder, “We can do this. It’s going to work.” Mando wasn’t sure if he was talking to you or himself more in that moment.

You shook your head nervously, “I want to believe that Mando, but I just have a very bad feeling about this. I don’t-“ you hesitated swallowing the lump in your throat, “I don’t know how to explain it, and it wasn’t here before, but something in me is telling me we should abort.” 

Mando looked at you curiously through his visor, before you were so sure of yourself and the plan, why had it changed? He took in a breath to speak but was interrupted but the sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs coming from the jungle and piercing the silent night air. You and Mando were alert in an instant as the sounds moved slowly from the left side of the village to directly in front of you where the trap was. You glanced at the men and women to your left and right, seeing a determination in their eyes. 

The Chroigs were here.

You faced forward as Mando readied his rifle and you too get ready to fight if needed. You saw the two beasts come into view, the only light provided being from torches scattered around the village. The beasts were following the trail of food left earlier, growling and bumping into one another fighting over the meat. Finally, you saw one of the two animals step in front of the other and stand directly onto the false floor. The animal lets out a surprised howl before plummeting into the trap. A sharp yowl fills the air before everything is silent once more. While you heard small gasps and hoots of triumph from your comrades, you realized that only one of the beasts was slain. The other was now jumping over the pit and stalking into the camp, unscathed and not happy. 

“Fire!” Mando’s voice cut through the silence as he ordered the guards with blasters to fire on the beast. 

Then chaos ensues.

Jaleer lets out a loud battle cry before jumping the barriers along with several other guards and run to attack the stunned beast. You look at the Mandalorian next to you, who seemed to be more in his element than ever before running off to join the fray. You see your friends attempting to harm the beast with their various weapons but it seems unfazed by your attacks. You run to assist you’re your friend Ariah who is standing nose to nose with the beast jabbing her spear into is shoulder. You grab one of your knives and throw it towards the towering animal. Your aim is true as the knife makes its mark on the side of the animals body. It lets out a loud howl and turns to face you, a deadly look in its blazing yellow eyes. in an instant he lanches into a sprint, directly towards you. You are able to dodge the large canine, its large claws barley scrapping your shoulder as it thunders past you. However, despite missing it’s target it does not slow its charge and heads directly for the barricades. In the second it takes you to realize what’s happening, Mando stood from behind his barrier and shots a loud shot at the beast before being tossed like a ragdoll 30 feet from his original position. He lands harshly against a building before crumpling to the ground in a heap. 

Even though everything is screaming at you to go cheak on the bounty hunter, the beast, while severely wounded is still alive. You feel a newfound determination fueled by rage fill you as you sprint at the stumbling animal. Once you are close enough you use your spear as leverage and launch yourself into the air, a loud cry slipping past your lips. At the sound the beast turns his head allowing you to plunge your knife into the base of it’s skull, killing it instantly. It falls to the ground and you along with it as the cheers of your fellow villagers fill the air. You want to cheer along with them but the only thing filling your mind is the Mandalorian.  
You quickly stand to your feet, and turn around frantically trying to remember where he fell. Once you finally spot him you feel your heart skip a beat.  
He wasn’t moving.

You quickly shoved past a few of your friends and ran over to Mando the worst possible thoughts running through your head. You quickly kneel beside him and roll him onto his back fingers jamming under his helmet to check for a pulse. However the thick black cloth around his neck was hindering your efforts. You tug at them furiously loosening the cloak from around his neck before once again checking for any sign of life. When your cool fingers pressed against the warm skin of his neck you almost cried in relief. 

He was alive.


	4. Lonely

You glanced from your form in the mirror to the sleeping Mandalorian. After the skirmish with the last Chroig, Jaleer along with some of the other villagers had helped you bring him back to your hovel along with a small cot. Hammock’s weren’t great for treating the wounded. One of the older women, a former resistance medic, had helped you as you relieved the unconscious man of his armor. She had reached for his helmet but stopped at your harsh grip on her wrist. You shook your head simply and she seemed to understand. You cringed as you say the deep red marks across his lower abdomen and shoulders. His beskar had protected the majority of his torso from the deadly sharp claws of the beast but couldn’t protect him from everything. You watched as Ellaria, the medic, pulled some batcha patches from her med kit and laid them over the angry red wounds. she quickly looked over him for any other noticeable injuries before standing and looking concerned at your own shoulder.

“You need attention too. You didn’t come out unscathed.” at her mention of your own wound you suddenly remembered the sharp sting in your shoulder. The animal must have grazed you before it attacked Mando.

You waved her off, “I can take care of it, it’s just a scratch.” 

The woman rolled her eyes but handed you a few batch patches as well along with a roll of bandages, “Put these bacta patches on yours and you should be fine, but him-“ she gestured to the bounty hunter, “he’s going to need some bandages after the bacta has done it’s work. They are amazing tools but not miracle workers.” 

No nodded in understanding taking the items from her hands, “Thank you Ellaria.”

She smiles gently and glances back at the man, “No, thank you both. Without you we would still be living in fear of another attack. He helped us like he promised.”  
You too look at the man, “yeah,” a slight warmth fills your chest as your heart flutters slightly, “he did keep his promise.” 

Your comment fell into the empty room as Ellaria had already left. 

You brought your eyes back to the mirror as you recalled the memory and tried to place the bacta patches on your shoulder. You had pulled your shirt off which left you in nothing more than a thin tank top but made it a lot easier to treat your wound. You had placed the last patch on the back of your shoulder, albeit awkwardly, but placed it nonetheless when a low modulated grown filled the air.

Your head whipped in the direction of the noise and you saw Mando starting to stir from his position. He attempted to sit up, but you moved quickly to his side to help him.

“Hey, take it easy,” you instructed gently moving your hands to his arms to help guide him into a sitting position. You tried to ignore the warmth emitting from him.

“You took quite the blow out there, Mando.” The man felt a small shiver run through him as your nickname for him slipped past your lips, but you just assumed he was chilled from the cool breeze whispering through the home.

“I’ve had worse.” He stated plainly, as he looked around the home slowly, “what happened? where’s the kid?” you could hear worry tinge his words as you turned to grab the bandages from behind you.

“The kids asleep in the back,” you assured, “and we killed them. You’re plan worked.” You said triumphantly as you turned to face him again, squatting to be face level with him, a warm smile crossing your face.

Your smile fell and your breath hitched as you felt one of his warm hands brush lightly against your injured shoulder, “Not without consequences,” he muttered bitterly, withdrawing his hand from you.

Your mind was reeling from the small act, trying to figure out the man behind the mask in front of you. You’ve only known each other for what? Four or five days? Yet, here you both were inches from one another a tension in the air neither of you dared address. You cleared your throat, and shrugged your shoulder, wincing slightly as the action sent a sharp pain through your shoulder.

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

You look at the patches still on the man and look up to him holding the bandages up for him to see, “Ellaria told me you’d need these after the bacta did it’s work. I can check if you want to see if they- “

“No.” he said shortly.

You frowned slightly but set the bandages down none the less and stood silently, “Okay, if you’re sure.”

He just nods and your turn around and walk to face the mirror once again. You tilt your head to the side and peel up the patches on your shoulder slightly. You pressed it back down when you saw it wasn’t completely healed yet and glance in the mirror at the man behind you. You could see him struggling to maneuver to remove the patches and heard small grunts of pain coming from his direction. You shook your head at his stubbornness and turned swiftly walking back to crouch in front of him once more. You reached for the patch on his lower abdomen and startled slightly when he gripped your wrist tightly. You again felt your breath stutter but steeled yourself and looked up at him, met only with a mask. You tried to look through the mask, tried to see him, but it was impossible with the metal separating you. 

You looked at him pleadingly, “Let me help you” Your voice was only a whisper, but even behind the Mandalorian could hear the desperation behind the plea. 

He hesitated before releasing your wrist from his grasp and instead gripped the edge of the cot. You took this as permission and gently peeled the bacta patch from his skin. You immediately noticed a massive improvement. The deep cuts were now almost completely closed and had considerably less redness around them. You set the patch aside before removing the second one gently. You hear a small hiss come from the man in front of you and whisper an apology before picking up the bandage roll. You gently start to wrap the gauze around his torso fingers gently grazing his skin occasionally. You don’t miss the multitude of scars that litter his body as you start to wrap the bandages around his shoulder. Once you’re satisfied with your works you secure the end of the bandage and glance up at the man sitting over you.

You gently sweep your fingers over a particularly jagged scar before blurting, “How long have you been doing this?” the words escape your mouth before you can stop them.

The man pushes your hand away and reaches for the discarded blanket beside him pulling it up to cover himself slightly. You immediately regret your question and mentally kick yourself.

“I’m sorry,” you breath, standing from your position quickly, “That’s none of my business. Don’t get too close right? That’s the unspoken rule.” You declare, a slight bitterness working its way into your words.

You walk over to your hammock a few feet away and lay yourself in it gently before facing away from the man who was still a mystery to you. A deafening silence fills the air after you both settle into your respective sleeping areas, the only sound being the steady hum of insects outside and the light rustle of foliage floating through your windows. You surprisingly hear a low hiss followed by a thunk of metal on the wooden floor of your home. 

The Mandalorian had removed his helmet. 

As much as your curiosity screamed at you to turn and look you willed yourself to stay facing the opposite direction. You would not do that to him.

“Since I was young.” His voice startled you, breaking the tense silence.

A small gasp escaped your lungs as you heard his voice unaltered for the first time. While you had already found it mesmerizing before, it was truly breathtaking now. You had to swallow past the lump in your throat. 

“Why?”

There was a stagnant pause before he responded, “because it’s what I was trained to do.”

You couldn’t find a response to that answer and sat quietly once more. One question still lingered at the forefront of your mind, “Why do you always were your helmet?” you finally push out.

“It’s they Way.” Is all he offers, as if that fully answers your question.

“When was the last time someone has seen you without it?” you ask curiously, throwing all caution to the wind.

“I was just a child.” Short and to the point, as always.

You felt a tightness grip your chest, as a sadness washed over you. He hadn’t seen anyone without his helmet since he was child, “Is it not lonely?” you question, confusion and sadness lacing your words.

Once again, a long paused greeted you and you were sure this time he was not going to respond. You had crossed a line. But a soft sigh cut through the air, “It does.” 

You opened your mouth to reply but quickly shut it once you realized you truly had no words. The vulnerability in those two words almost knocked you from your hammock. You were seeing a side of him that no one had seen in many years and Dyn was, for a moment, afraid. Not of dying, or getting hurt, but of truly opening up to someone. But the feeling was replaced slowly by a warm relief. It felt like a small weight was lifted from his shoulders as he finally admitted his loneliness. Dyn felt drowsiness start to creep into his mind, he glanced over momentarily at you, breathing steadily and turned over on his good side.

“Goodnight,” he offered quietly, not sure of you were awake to hear it.

Just as sleep finally claimed him he heard a small ‘goodnight Mando’ meet his ears and for the first time in as long as he can remember he fell asleep without a worry in the world.


	5. Not Alone

You woke with a start the images that plagued your sleep fleeting from your memory leaving you with nothing but a thin sheet of sweat covering your body and an ache between your thighs. You tried to steady your erratic breathing and calm your flushed face. The images from the dream still danced across your mind in flashes of tanned skin, warm hands and whispery breaths. You let out a shaky breath of your own as you swung your legs over the side of the hammock and sat up, hyper aware of the thin tank top sticking to your still damp skin. 

“Sleep well?”

You startled at the modulated voice and whip your head to face the sound. You are met with none other than the very man that plagued your sleep as he fiddled with the armor on his arms, head tilted in a curious manner. You felt a blush creep up your neck and fill your cheeks. Had he heard you? You silently prayed to the maker that you weren’t obvious in your unconscious state.

You inhaled deeply, running a hand through your sweat damp hair, “I-uhm, yeah I slept good. You?”

There was a slight pause before he spoke, “Surprisingly yes,” you sighed in silent relief. He hadn’t heard you.

“Until your restlessness woke me up.” He stated, a teasing hint in his voice.

Well shit.

If your face wasn’t on fire before it certainly was now. You stood quickly and stumbled slightly as you grabbed your cloak from the floor along with a small towel. “I’m sorry- I uhm,” you stuttered as you walked towards the exit desperate to distance yourself from the situation, “I’m going to go get some air really quick.” You mutter, pushing past the curtain and out the door.

Dyn watched you leave, a smirk sliding onto his face under the helmet at your embarrassed state. He had heard. Of course he had, you were only five feet apart from one another and his bounty hunter days made him a light sleeper. And surprisingly, he wasn’t upset by what had happened, or embarrassed. As confusing as it was to him, he felt himself growing attached to you, and the fact that you had obviously dreamed about him (if his name being called several times didn’t give it away), had him yearning for more.

More what? He asked himself. 

That he didn’t know yet. He had only known you for a week at most, and still he felt this indescribable pull towards you, a force if you will. He felt the need to be near you, talk to you, protect you, even though he knew you didn’t need his protection, he was baffled by these new developments. He let out a low sigh and looked around the small hut, quickly spotting the child waddling from the back room gurgling lightly. As he moved towards the kid and picked him up, he felt the bandages around his torso shift slightly and hissed. He lifted up the bottom of his shirt and saw a small amount of blood peaking through the white gauze. He dropped his shirt and held the kid up in front of his face gently.

“I think some washing up is in order, what do you think?” he asked rhetorically. 

The kid just giggled and reached out tiny hands to grasp for the Mandalorian, “That’s what I thought you’d say,” he joked to himself.

He tucked the child in the crook of his arm and left the building to inquire about a bathing area.  
//  
You lightly smacked yourself in the forehead as you approached a small river nearby the village.

“stupid, stupid, stupid,” you chastised, “He probably hates me and never wants to talk to me again,” you say to yourself as you drop your items on a nearby patch of grass.

You sit down and start to take off your shoes followed by the rest of your clothing and set them neatly in a pile a few feet from the bank. You grabbed the soap you managed to snatch before you sped out of your house and waded into the river, sighing as the cool water encased you. After the skirmish with the beasts, the consequent cleanup you felt absolutely disgusting, so you felt a refresh was in order. You gently started to scrub the dirt and grime from your body as your mind wandered back to this morning and last night’s events.

It was now clearly obvious the feelings your harbored for your armor guest, but you were still unsure of exactly why you felt these things. At first you wanted to brush them off as simple and natural feelings stemming from not being with anyone in a long time. But you knew it was deeper than that. You dunked your head under the water to get your hair wet before emerging and scrubbing at your hair angrily with the soap. You were frustrated. Frustrated that you were feeling these things. Frustrated that you couldn’t control them. And frustrated that that stupid helmet and that stupid bounty hunter wouldn’t leave the forefront of your mind. Yet the strong connection you felt for him were stronger. You could feel a yearning tugging at your heart when you saw him interact with the child, a warmth when he spoke to you and an ineffable feeling to want to see him – to know him. the real him. Not the mask you are so used to. Who was he?

You let out a sigh at the still unanswered question that tormented your mind. You dunked your head underwater to rinse out the suds, the sound of rushing water covering up the sound of an approaching intruder. 

Dyn had not intended on following you or sneaking up on you for that matter. He just followed the directions that one of the villagers gave him to the local bathing spot and was not prepared to for what he saw. The neat pile of familiar clothing should have keyed him into the situation but before he realized who’s clothing it was, he was already at the rivers clearing and frozen by the sight before him. You had risen from the water, thankfully (or not so thankfully), facing the other direction as you wrung out you soaked hair. Dyn couldn’t help himself as he studied your form, eyes trailing over every dip and curve, admiring in silence your beautiful yet powerful build. he could practically feel the suppleness of your skin under his fingertips despite never having touched you before. As his eyes continued to roam your body, he took note of the large jagged scar that travelled from your left hip up to your right shoulder blade and felt a small tug of rage at whomever had caused it. However, his thoughts were cut shorts as you turned around slowly to exit the river and your eyes landed on his figure at the edge of the clearing. 

On instinct you dropped into the water, covering whatever dignity you had left, and gasped loudly, “Mando! What the kriff are you doing?” you screech.

“I-mm-“ he quickly whipped around to face the other direction and reluctantly removed his gaze from you, “I was just following directions from another villager, I didn’t know-“ he stopped to steady his breathing slightly, “I had no idea you were here.”

You could hear the earnestness in his voice, but still your face flushed for what felt like the millionth time this morning, “Well stay turned around, I would like to keep some of my dignity and I really don’t need the kid seeing all I have to offer either.” You tease.

You climb out of the water and shove down the thought of ‘if he didn’t have the kid, I would have invited him in’ as you approach your clothing. You quickly and haphazardly dry off and throw your clothes on before brushing past the Mandalorian tossing the soap bar in his direction. 

“You might need this,” he fumbles to catch the slippery bar with one hand put manages to do so and watches your figure retreat back to the village.

“Stop staring Mando!” you call out over your shoulder.

He quickly averts his eyes and turns to face the river and repeat the process you just finished. He sets the kid down on the ground and finds small round nut on the ground and hands it to the child before ushering him behind a near by tree. The kid is instantly entranced by the small object and begins playing with it as Mando walks down to the river and begins removing his armor. The vision of your unclothed form and question of the origin of the scar plaguing his mind.   
//  
When you return to the village all you want to do is crawl into a hole and die somewhere, mortified at the seemingly endless chain of events this morning. By the time you reach your home, change into clean clothes and tidy up, it’s around early afternoon. 

“Hey (Y/N)!” your friend Ariah excitedly greets you as you exit the building.

“What’s got you so exited?” you ask amusedly, not used to seeing the woman so hyped up.

She grasps your shoulders and bounces on the balls of her feet, “We’re having a party! To celebrate our victory the other night. We haven’t had a party in ages.” 

You raise your eyebrows at the news, “A party? I can’t even remember the last time we had one of those that wasn’t for the local solstice.” 

Every year your village and the other tribes around the area held a large celebration to celebrate the summer solstice. It came with bonfires, eating, drinking, and a lot of dancing. Something that while rare, you looked forward too. 

Ariah nods excitedly, “Right? It’s going to be so fun, and we can actually just relax now that we don’t have to worry about those beasts.” You see her glance over your shoulder, “All thanks to you and him.”

You follow her gaze to see Mando had returned and was watching from a distance as the children played with the child, rolling a small ball to and fro. He seemed to sense your gaze and looked over to you, well you assumed he was looking at you. You quickly looked away as he started to walk towards you, leaving the kid with the other children.

Ariah gives you a knowing look before squeezing your hands gently, “I’ll see you tonight (Y/N)! you too Mando!” she calls over her shoulder as she retreats.

“What was that?” you hear his modulated voice ask.

You shrug and turn to walk back into your house, the Mandalorian following you, “We’re having a celebration tonight,” you walk over and sit on your hammock, swinging slightly, “To celebrate the defeat of the Chroigs and you.” 

“Me?” you could hear the disbelief in his voice.

You smiled and chuckled, “Yes, you. Without you and your idea those animals would still be out there.”

“You all did most of the work,” he defended.

You rolled your eyes, “Just take the compliment Mando, and enjoy the party.”

He didn’t respond to you and a comfortable silence filled the air as you rocked in your hammock and Mando gazed out the nearby window at the playing children. 

“How did you get that scar?” 

The question startled you, and for a moment you were confused. Until you realized that he was referring to the scar he no doubt saw this morning. You didn’t answer right away, not sure if you wanted to dredge up the past you so desperately tried to keep hidden. But you sighed and stood, moving to the very window he was looking out of, and watched the children play gently with the small green child.

“I was about their age,” you started gently, “My parents and I were out at the market on my home plant, shopping for my birthday actually,” You had barely started and yet you felt a lump forming in the back of your throat, “When the out of nowhere the streets were flooded with stormtroopers and empire soldiers.”

You heard the Mandalorian come to join you at the window, his cool beskar armor brushing your arm slightly. You continued.

“Blasters start firing and my parents are screaming, my mother picking me up and running through the chaos to try and get me to safety. I saw my dad running after us but then the next thing I know a red bolt of light hit him in the back and he’s gone,” I feel a tear slip from my eyes and wipe it away quickly, “I didn’t know it in that moment, but they were there for me. A man in all black with, what I now know to be a lightsaber, followed my mother and I. She turned to fight, to save me, but she couldn’t win not against him. So, I ran. But I couldn’t outrun him either.” At this I pulled up my shirt slightly revealing my scar once more, “He slashed me across the back, and I fell, he must have assumed I was dead because next thing I know I’m waking up in the destroyed market. Alone.”

I finish my story and wipe at my eyes once more, trying to wipe the wet signs emotion from my face. 

“Sorry it’s not some heroic battle story,” I let out a dry chuckle, trying to lighten the mood and also forgot once more.

But Mando wasn’t done.

“Why did the empire want you? You were just a child.” His voice was full of malice, and what sounded like a sense of understanding.

“I can do things,” you say, still not sure if you want to reveal this secret, a secret only you have known for the majority of your life.

Mando turns to face you, “What kinds of things? What could possibly make the empire hunt down a child?”

“I can use the force,” you finally spit out, the secret finally out in the open.

You’re ready for judgement, or fear, the same fear that was in your parent’s eyes when they saw you lift a ball without touching it. The fear of the unknown.   
But you’re only met with a head tilt of confusion from the bounty hunter, clearly not understanding what you were on about. You can understand, you didn’t know what it was either until you came across story books in your travels, once of people known as the Jedi able to move things with their minds and even control others. Over the years you had learned to hone your abilities but every time you used them the memory of that horrible day filled your mind, and the fear of being found once more scared you into hiding. So, you stopped. You quit using your powers, kept them secret from anyone but yourself. So, to be telling this to the man in front of you, a bounty hunter no less, was terrifying. You explained, as simply as you could, what the forced was to the Mandalorian and paused once you were done, looking up at him worriedly.

“You see why I don’t tell anyone? I sound crazy, and stupid, and- “you are cut short as he strides out your home, cape fluttering behind him.

Your heart drops into your stomach. He was going to tell someone. He was going to tell the whole village and you were going to be forced to leave. Or he was going to leave and tell someone about your whereabouts. All of these thoughts were flying through your mind that you had spaced out and gasped when the Mandalorian burst into your home once more this time holding the child. He set the child down on the counter carefully before picking up a stray bowl and held it out to you.

“Can you do it to this? In front of the kid?” he asked hurriedly.

You looked at him quizzically, “Of course I can do it with a bowl. Mando what is this about?” His actions were very put of character.

“Will you do it? Please?” he almost begged.

You hesitated, not having used your powers in front if anyone since you were a child but reached your hand out slightly. You felt the force latch onto the bowl and Mando withdrew his hand leaving the bowl suspended in midair, the only thing keeping it in place was you. You watched as the child’s wide eyes looked from you to the bowl in front of him, seemingly mesmerized by the action. You looked over to Mando, about to speak up, confused about the point of this all when you felt it. A connection. You looked back to the child and saw his little hand extended towards the bowl, eyes closed in concentration. Realization dawned on you; this little child was like you. You released the bowl from your force grip and brought your hands to your mouth a shocked sound slipping past your lips as it stayed suspended. However, the bowl soon fell to the ground and shattered as the kid slumped back in exhaustion. With your hands still over your mouth, you look from the small child then over to Mando who was stood stock still. 

You dropped your hands from your mouth and let out an excited gasp, “Oh my stars!” you turned to Mando, who still hadn’t moved and instinctively threw your arms around him, hugging him tightly, “I thought I was alone!” you admitted, “This whole time. But he’s here! And – “you realized you were still clinging to the bounty hunter and stepped away slightly another realization dawning on you, “That’s why you’re here. Someone is after the kid.” You look back to the brown bundle who seemed to be sleeping peacefully on the countertop.

All Dyn do was nod, he couldn’t make his mouth form words. All of this information was too much for him. The kid, you, the fact that you both could do the things you could. Then his mind when back to your story and he felt his heart constrict. You didn’t deserve this. 

“I’m sorry.” He eventually whispered.

You furrowed your brows in confusion, what was he sorry about?

“What you went through,” he clarified, “and asking, I had no right.”

You shook your head and stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on his arm, “I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t want to. Plus- “you looked up to him, “It felt…nice to finally open up. Tell someone about everything,” you admitted.

“My parents were killed too,” be confessed, catching you by surprise, “I was a child, like you, when droids attacked my village. My parent hid me in a hatch in the ground, but they didn’t make it,” you can hear his voice shake slightly and your eyes soften, you squeeze his arm comfortingly and he continues, “The Mandalorians found me, raised me, and that’s how I ended up doing what I did, how I ended up here.”

You smile sadly and bring the tall man into a hug; he hesitates shortly before wrapping his arms around your waist. You sigh contentedly as you rest your cheek against his chest plate, the cool metal a comfort to your warm skin.

You weren’t alone after all.


	6. The Revelation

The party was in full swing by the time the sun finally sunk behind the horizon, leaving your small village lit by only the light of the blazing bonfire. You laughed boisterously as you and the other villagers danced and skipped round the bonfire, your long white dress swinging around your legs and bare feet moving swiftly across the ground as you followed the fast pace of the music. The line of people quickly broke off into pairs and you and your friend Ariah became partners. You turned to face one another and grabbed each other’s hands before continuing to dance to the beat. Your heart was racing and faced flush, partly from the dancing and partly from the drinks you had earlier, as you and Ariah twirled around one another laughing. You managed to catch a quick glance of Mando leaning against a nearby building, obviously not participating in the festivities, but still observing. You motioned a hand for him to join you, but he just put his hand up and shook his head. You rolled your eyes and pulled away from Ariah, who quickly moved to a new partner, and walked over to the Mandalore.

“Why aren’t you participating?” you ask breathlessly, heart still racing.

“I’m not really the dancing type” His baritone voice replied.

You rolled your eyes again before looking back to the exuberant crowd of your friends, “But this party is for you Mando,” you explain, “Have some fun!” You gesture over to the group off children off to the side who are happily spinning and dancing with the small green child who is giggling happily, “Even the kid is having a blast.”

You see him glance over to the child and notice his stance relax slightly, but he doesn’t budge, “I’m enjoying watching you.”

You wiggle your eyebrows suggestively, “Oh, so you enjoy looking at me is what you’re saying?”

“No- “ 

“No?” you feign hurt, “Ouch Mando, that hurt,” a giggle slips past your lips.

“No I didn’t mean-“he sighs, clearly flustered by your teasing, “I just meant that I enjoy watching you all.”

“Sure, whatever you say,” you say sarcastically.

The Mandalorian doesn’t respond but you can just imagine him rolling his eyes before he relaxes a little more into the building behind him. you shake your head and grab his gloved hands.

“No, I don’t think so big guy,” you tug him from his position and towards the crowd of dancing people, “You are going to have fun whether you want to or not.” 

“No, please I really-“you cut him off as you pull a little harder.

“Come on Mando,” you look up at him pleadingly, “Please?” you weren’t sure where this boldness was coming from, but you attribute it partly to the aforementioned drinks.

The Mandalorian feels his resolve crumble as he looks at you but is still hesitant.

“I don’t know how to dance.” He finally admits as you approach the line of dancers.

You smile encouragingly at him, “That’s okay! I can show you a few moves and we can go from there,” you assure.

He nods slightly and you smile wide taking his hands in yours as you start to show him some of the simpler steps to begin. At first his is a little clumsy, but you mainly attribute that to his rigid training to be a fighter. However, a few songs in he turns out to be quite good. You laugh so much your cheeks start to hurt from smiling so much as he spins you around and you can’t help but chuckle at the sight of a fully armored Mandalore dancing around a fire. At various points throughout the songs, he had removed his gloves and cloak making it easier to maneuver. You blushed slightly as his calloused, yet gentle hands grasped yours as the musicians started to play a slower song and people started to dance in pairs. You swayed gently back and forth for a moment before you noticed he didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands. You laughed to yourself lightly and moved his hands to rest on your hips before laying your hands on his shoulders.

“Have you really never danced at all before?” you questioned as you looked up at him.

You hated that he had to wear that helmet. Unable to read his expressions or gage how he was feeling at any given moment. You wanted to know what he was thinking, how he was feeling in this moment if he was enjoying himself or just going along with it. 

“I haven’t” his voice startled you from your thoughts.

You frowned slightly, “well that sounds boring.”

He lets out a laugh and you have to stop yourself from fainting right there. You had never heard him laugh. You had never really heard him to anything except for sigh and talk now that you think about it.

“Yeah, it was kind of boring,” he admits.

You smile but say nothing else as you step closer to him and rest your head on his shoulder between his pauldrons and his helmet. You move your hands to rest loosely around his waist and you feel his grip on your hips tighten slightly. You go to move your head; afraid you’ve made him uncomfortable when his voice cuts you off.

“it’s fine,” his voice comes out in a whisper you almost miss.

You don’t say anything as you relax once more, the alcohol in your blood and his hands on your hips giving you a sense of warmth as you close your eyes and sway to the music. After a few moments of peacefully swaying you crack your eyes open and notice that the Mandalorian collar had slipped down below his helmet, exposing a sliver of tanned skin. Before you realize what, you’re doing you press a slow kiss to the unprotected area. You feel him tense up once more and its at this moment your mind catches up with your actions. You pull away and open your mouth to apologize but Mando just squeezes your hips tightly and all you manage is a gasp. You don’t even get a chance to recover before you feel him tugging you towards your small home in an urgent manner. While you’re no where near drunk, the alcohol you had earlier still muddles your brain and you stumble to keep up with the man until you finally make it back to your home.

“What on ear-“you interrupt yourself with another gasp as the man in question lifts you up onto the counter and places himself between your legs. 

Your foggy mind can’t keep up with what happening as you feel his hands move from your hips up your sides squeezing roughly as he goes. The only thing you can seem to think as this man finally touches you is that you want more. Finally get your hands to move and you bring them to his neck noticing the shiver that runs over  
him as your cold hands meet his hot skin. You feel one of his hands move up to one of your breasts and squeezes gently.

You quietly moan out the only name you have for him and grasp his shoulders and are confused when you feel him go rigid.  
//  
Dyn stopped as he heard your nickname for him slip past your lips in a breathy moan, a sobering realization washing over him.

You didn’t even know his real name. 

He dropped his hands to your hips and left them there loosely. You didn’t even know his goddamn name and here you were, about to give everything to him. He felt your hands move down his arms as a confused look crossed your flushed face, chest heaving as you breathed heavily.

“Mando what’s wrong?” you asked, worry lacing your tone.

Had you done something wrong, something to upset him? “You don’t even know my name” he breathed out. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion and grasped for his hands as he removed them from your hips. “What?” “You don’t know me (Y/N),” he states solemnly, “you don’t know my name, you don’t know what I look like, you don’t know what I’ve done.” Bitterness laces his tone as he pulls his hands from your grip, everything in his nature screaming at him. What are you doing? He screams at himself. Hold her, touch her, take her. Show her who you are, tell her your name, let your walls down for once you stupid stupid man. But he can’t. His mind and heart battling with each other. His breathing is still a little labored as his mind is telling him to leave, don’t abandon The Way, don’t turn your back on the people who gave him everything. Yet, his heart – his soul – is telling him to run to you. Rip his helmet off and pick you up in his arms and show you how much he wants you, want to be with you. But he doesn’t. You feel desperation as well as an intense anguish fill your chest as you slip from the counter reaching for him once more. “I know that you’re selfless and that you care for those around you,” you start slowly, “I also know that you’re kind and generous and deeply flawed, but aren’t we all?” you grasp his hand once more and look up at him, “I know you’re a good person Mando. No, I don’t know your name, and I won’t ask until you’re ready. I won’t ask you to do anything for me that you don’t want but it doesn’t mean that I don’t know who you are. You are good Mando, I know you are.” There is a silence following your words and, for a hopeful moment, you think they’ve gotten to him, but he just shakes his head and pulls his hand away, breaking your heart with one small action. “It’s not enough.” He says sourly, “You deserve someone who can give you what you want, what you need. You deserve someone-” you hear his voice crack slightly, “Someone better than me.” He doesn’t wait for a response before he walks swiftly out the door and into the night air. You feel tears fill your vision and you press your palms against your eyes as an attempt to keep them at bay. Why? Why did you have to fall so hard for someone who could never love you back? Your chest hurt, it felt like your heart was being ripped from your chest and you hated it. You hated that you had no control over your feelings and you hate that the Mandalore had wormed his way into your heart, along with the kid. You let out a choked sob as you managed to find your way to your hammock, flopping into it with little grace. You furiously wiped at the tears streaming down your face and lay staring up at the ceiling. Only when you notice your sniffling being the only sound around you do you realize that the party must have dispersed. What started out as a fun and exciting evening has turned sour in what felt like an instant. You toss and turn slightly, willing sleep to come and take you away from this emotional turmoil but it never answers. After awhile of not being able to get comfortable you finally relent and stand up and leave the home. You walk back over to the bonfire which has now turned into a small flame and stare into the light. You have no idea where Mando went, and for a moment you worry for his safety, but you know he can handle himself and turn back to your thoughts. //  
It had been several hours, and you had moved to a seated position next to the fire, sleep still evading you. You were about to get up and force yourself to bed when a steady beeping noise caught your attention. Your stood up and turned to look for the origin of the sound when you were met with the end of a blaster, a large dark-skinned man at the other end. “Where’s the Mandalorian?” the man asked, accent thick. Your eyes widened in shock, they wanted Mando? But then you quickly remembered what the child could do. They were here for him too. You felt the blaster nudge at your chest. “Did you hear me?” The man questioned anger started to rise, “Where is the Mandalorian and the asset he has with him?” The only answer the man gets is your quick movement to rip the blaster from his grip before using the force to send him flying back. you hear him groan as he hits the ground but don’t have long to dwell on it before familiar sounds of blaster fire fills your ears. “Find them!” a voice yells in the distance. There were more of them. A lot more. You quickly run behind a nearby building, taking cover. You notice that there are at least six other bounty hunters closing in on the camp, blaster firing constantly in your direction. You see several of your village’s guards emerge from their homes at the commotion and watch in horror as one of them is gunned down. The others quickly arm themselves and find cover. You see the man that first approached you regaining his feet and, as he spots you, run towards you. You raise the blaster that’s in your hand and aim it at the man. Just as he is almost on top of you, he falls to the ground as you pull the trigger. You sense a presence behind you and turn just in time to raise your blaster and block an oncoming attack from one of the hunters. Your blaster stops her knife from coming down on you and while she’s distracted you fling her back with a jerk of your hand watching as she collides with a nearby building before falling to the ground lifeless. You stand turning on you heal and sprinting to your home. You quickly snatch your staff from inside before re-joining the fray and fighting alongside you friends. //  
Distant blaster fire snaps the Mandalorian awake. He sits up quickly from his position against the tree and pulls the child closer to him. After he stormed out of your home, he grabbed the child from the other children, muttering an excuse about feeding him before he walked off into the woods to clear his head. This battle within himself was the hardest one he has ever faced. He debated on going back to the ship, leaving everything behind, including you. If you weren’t around then the feelings would surely go away, right? That’s what he tried to convince himself of. He tried to tell himself that leaving was the best option, yet he didn’t go to the ship. Instead, he sat down next to a nearby tree, child asleep in his arms, and dozed off. Dreams of you filling his head. However, the minute he heard the distant blasters and screams he didn’t think twice before he ran towards the village. He felt branches smack his helmet as he sprinted through the foliage, the thought of you not being alive spurning him forward. He didn’t have his pulse rifle, an unfortunate setback, but he did have his blaster. He could hear the sound of battle getting loud as he finally broke through the trees, blaster pulled from his holster and ready to fire. He saw a figure run towards him from his left and quickly fired his blaster, sending the man sprawling to the ground. He quickly assessed that there were at least four more enemy’s left, and with the villagers not having blasters, they were winning. He looked around the village, then back down to the child in his arms, how can he fight and keep the child with him too? Before he could make that decision, he heard his name being whisper from a hut on the outskirts of the village. He saw one of the local children peak their head out of the door and motion him over. He quickly went to the hut and saw the children huddled together with Ariah standing in front of them, ready to fight to protect them. The child motioned for the kid but Mando held him closer. “I’ll protect him like he’s our own,” Ariah assured, a determined look in her eye, “Now go help them.” He nodded and handed the kid to the child that had called him before swiftly moving into he middle of the village. The first thing he saw was Jaleer fighting off two large men, tracking fobs beeping steadily at their sides. He felt an anger rise up in him at the sight of the fobs, the things that have caused him and the kid nothing but problems. He raised his blaster and fired at one of the men hitting his mark and watching as he fell to the floor. Jaleer made quick work of the last one and nodded to Mando in thanks before running to help the others. That left two more to deal with. He heard nearby blaster fire and ran towards its location, spotting you as he rounded the corner of a house. He watched as the bounty hunter knocked the staff from your hand and tackled you to the ground. He raised his blaster to fire but before he could he saw the staff fly into your hand as you pushed them off of you. Before the hunter could comprehend what had happened you delivered a swift and deadly uppercut to their face with your staff. You relaxed slightly as the man fell to the ground and looked around you for any other threats. Your eyes fell on Mando’s figure and a relieved smile fell on your face. Before he knew it, his legs were carrying himself towards you and he pulled you into a tight embrace.  
“I though that-“ he paused, not able to say the words. You chuckled slightly, “I can handle myself Mando, it’s you I have to worry about if I remember correctly.” The Mandalorian smiled under his helmet and pulled away from you, “I almost forgot.” He teased. You laughed and went to reply before he saw your eyes fall to something past his head. Everything seemed to happen in an instant. Your eyes widened, “Mando watch out!” you called. Before he could even turn around he felt an invisible force push him to the side and he toppled to the ground, the sound of blaster fire whizzing past his helmet. Next thing he knows he sees you collapsing to the ground in a heap of red and white. He quickly flipped onto his back and shot the bounty hunter approaching him. his breathing was erratic as he scrambled across the ground to where you had fallen. His heart plummets as he sees red staining the chest of your white dress. He hears several gasps behind him, no doubt the other villagers, as well as several calls for the doctor. He pulls you into his lap gently and feels his heart clench as you let out a wet cough, eyes cracking open slightly. “I must have jinxed myself,” you joke quietly. The Mandalorian just shakes his head, “don’t talk. Ellaria’s on her way.” You let out a small chuckle followed by a pained wince as you tried to take in a breath. he heard a commotion behind him as Ellaria pushed her way through the crowd and moved to look at you. she lets out a shocked gasp but quickly composes herself and looks to Mando. “We need to get her back to her house now. I can’t work here.” She instructs. Without question the man stands up with you in his arms, trying to ignore your pained whimpers, and follows swiftly behind the medic and towards your home. “What’s your name?” he hears you ask weakly, “I want to at least know it if I don’t make it.” His head snaps down to look at you, “Don’t say that. You’re going to be fine.” He’s not sure if he’s talking to you or himself anymore. “Set her down on the cot,” Ellaria commands as they enter the house. He lays you gently on the stiff bed and goes to stand as Ellaria frantically gathers supplies, but you grasp his hand desperately, “Don’t leave,” you beg, voice weak and teeth stained pink, “Please don’t leave me.” He doesn’t even have to think about your request before he is pulling an empty crate beside your bed, careful to be out of Ellaria’s way and holds your hand, “I’m not going anywhere.” He watches silently as Ellaria works diligently and efficiently, sitting patiently as you squeeze his hand and come in and out of consciousness. His heart is racing for the several hours it takes for Ellaria finish up. Your dress was nothing but a skirt now, and bandages covered the majority of your upper torso and shoulder. “She’s out of the woods for now,” the older woman states, wiping her hands with a rag, “But you need to keep an eye on her tonight. Make sure she stays stable and breathing.” She warns. “thank you,” he nods, “I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.” Ellaria stops cleaning her hands and waves the rag towards him flippantly, “Ain’t nothing you have to be sorry about. Without you more of us would have been hurt. And she-“ she points to you, “she see’s something in you. I see they way you act around each other, there is no way you’re leaving this planet anytime soon.” She says matter of factly. He doesn’t reply, he just looks back to your unconscious form and brushes a tray hair from your damp forehead. He hears the medic leave and holds your hand a little tighter. He almost lost you. something that he never thought would have bothered him several days ago, but now, the thought terrifies him. only the sight of the steady rise and fall of your chest eases his mind. “My name is Dyn,” he says quietly, “Dyn Jarren.” He doesn’t think you’ll hear, doesn’t expect you too, but when he sees a small smile tug at the corners of your lips in your sleep his heart flutters. And its in this moment that he knows. He’s not ever leaving your side.


	7. The Promise

After only a couple hours of watching over you Dyn felt a panic rise up in him, a guilt driven urge that made his heart clench painfully in his chest as he watched your chest ride an fall steadily as you rested, completely unaware of the emotional turmoil the man next to you was experiencing. He knows he told himself he wouldn’t leave you. His heart is telling him to stay, to never leave your side, to protect you at all costs, and his mind is zeroing in on that need to protect and using his instincts against him. It’s telling him that the only way to protect you, to truly keep you safe, is to leave. His heart drops again as the thought crosses his mind, the last thing he wants to do is leave you. Yet it’s the only thing he has ever known. 

Running that is.

All he’s ever done is run. Run from his parent’s deaths, run from planet to planet, run from this last job, hell that’s been his life for the past 6 months is running to keep this child safe. and for what? He looks at you for a moment, your peaceful state calming him for a fleeting moment, before he is standing and gathering his things. 

Stop! He tells himself, Stop packing, stop running for once in your pathetic life! Stay with her, stay and relax, be happy…

Happy.

He pauses as the word crosses his mind. His time here had been the first time he has felt true and unfiltered happiness in years. He didn’t realize how nice it felt.

No. He shook his head, he couldn’t let his feelings get in the way of what was right.

You’re an idiot, the angel on his shoulder seemed to speak up once more, as he glances over his shoulder at you, bag in hand, you love her goddammit! And you’re just going to run away? Like you always do, run away and forget.

Approaching footsteps followed by rustling fabric startle the Mandalorian from his thoughts and he turns to see Ariah walking through the door, the child in her arms. Her eyes first looked to your still unconscious form before looking at him then the backpack in his hands. 

Her eyes widen, “you’re leaving?” 

Dyn doesn’t say anything as he stuffs the last of their belongings in the bag and moves to take the child. Ariah moves back slightly, disbelief coating her features.

“What they hell?” she breathes, “You can’t just leave!” she exclaims.

He moves to take the child once more, “Its for the best,” he succeeds in removing the little one from her arms, “I have caused you all enough trouble.”

It seems like a flame erupts in her eyes as she points an infuriated finger towards you, “And what about her? Hmm? What they hell am I supposed to tell her when she wakes up and you’re gone?” she spits.

Dyn stays silent, and not because he chooses too, but because he truly doesn’t have an answer.

Ariah takes a threatening step forward about to speak her mind even clearer before a low groan comes from where you lay. They both snap their heads in the direction of the noise and Dyn’s mind flies onto hyperdrive, his heart is telling him to run to your side grab your hand and never leave. The very thing he promised you silently just several hours before. But his mind, his stupid and fear-filled mind wins out once again as he moves past Ariah and towards the door. 

Your eyes are open now, but they are slow to process what is happening, you see Ariah turning towards a retreating figure, her fist raised as she screams.  
“fine then! Run away Mando! You’re a coward!”

Your mind kicks into gear as you put pieces together. You see his cloak flutter out the door to your home and look around frantically immediately noticing the missing items. His missing items. Your mind is now racing a million miles a minute trying to catch up; you saved Mando, you got shot, he told you his name, he’s leaving.

He’s Leaving.

You immediately sit up the pain in your chest sending blackspots across your vision, but you don’t care. You swing your legs over the side of the cot and stand, but not for long as your legs crumple beneath you. 

Ariah’s arms are around you, “(Y/N), you need to stop. You just got shot you can’t-“

You cut her off as you shove her arms off you. He can’t leave, he can’t. Your whole world is a blur as you stand up once more stumbling from your home and down the stairs. Your mind can’t keep up with both your emotional state and physical state at once. You can barely stand, all your strength being sapped from your body as it tries to heal itself. And your mind is trying to process all of these feelings at once. Fear, despair, grief, anger, and confusion are all assaulting your mind as you stumble through the few people standing outside your home, the commotion drawing their attention. You can no longer stay standing but just before you fall to your knees you see the familiar glint of Beskar a couple yards away from you, cloak fluttering in the breeze.

Your fingers dig into the dirt as tears stream down your face, “Dyn, please!” your voice comes out cracked and strangled by the raw emotion coursing through you, but he hears you nonetheless. 

Dyn stills as your cry reaches his ears, piercing the night air. He’s surprised he can hear anything over the blood rushing in his ears. He wanted to avoid this, all of this…emotion. It was already hard enough for him to walk out of that house, and Ariah screaming after him made him hate his decision even more. But he kept telling himself it was for the best; it was what was best for you. but now, as he turned to face your crushed form sitting on the dirt ground, tears staining your cheeks as Ariah tried to coax you back inside, his decision was impossible. He took slow, hesitant steps back the way he came until he was standing a few arms lengths from you. the other villagers seemed to understand their intrusion and slowly retreated to their homes. Even Ariah stood slowly once she was sure you wouldn’t pass out and gave the Mandalorian a nasty glare before brushing past him bumping his shoulder aggressively. Then it was just you two, and the sleeping child in Dyn’s arms. 

Neither of you say anything for a while, your sniffles being the only sound as you stay seated on the ground, unable to stand.

“I can’t stay here,” Dyn says finally. His revelation was meant to be convicted but it came out in a pathetic whisper.

“Why?” you squeak out, so quiet he almost didn’t hear you yet the pure emotion in your voice, in that one word, almost knocked Dyn off his feet. 

There was so much sadness, but at the same time the one thing he seemed to pick up on was the utter defeat in your voice. He didn’t know what to do. He still felt that he had to leave, yet he knew that you deserved an explanation. He at least owed you that much. So, he shifted the child into his other arm before crouching down and lifting your good arm over his shoulder, helping you stand.

“Come on.”

You didn’t protest as the man assisted you back into you bed, propping you up with a few pillows before standing up once more. He placed his bag on the floor and the child in the nearby hammock before facing again.

“You deserve better,” is all he offers.

Your eyebrows knit together at his comment, the same comment you’ve heard before. The same stupid excuse he keeps giving you, “Why do you keep saying that?” you ask, no sense of malice present in your tone.

“Because it’s true. You almost died because of me tonight. You’re this selfless, beautiful, flawless person that deserves someone who can give you a life. A life of peace, and happiness, and…love,” Dyn pauses, oblivious to the fact that he had moved to be mere inches from where you lay, “you deserve so much more than me. I can’t give you what you want.”

You don’t say anything at first, you only look up at the same old shiny beskar mask that you have come to know as Dyn Jarren and reach up to tug on his hand lightly. 

You motion to the crate beside your cot but he shakes his head, “I don’t think – “

“Sit.” You say firmly, “please.”

Dyn hesitantly does what you ask and watches cautiously as you take his hand in your own fully. You carefully pull off his leather glove, relishing in the warmth of his skin before taking it and placing it over the left side of your chest, just above you heart. 

“Do you feel that?” you ask. His silence urges you to continue, “That means I’m alive Dyn. I’m alive and I’m here and I want you.” you finally admit aloud. 

You hear him take in a breath to speak but you shake you head, lightly resting a hand on the side of his helmet, “I don’t want anything more than what’s in front of me. Can’t you see that you make me happy? I know that you have your beliefs and that you may never take your helmet off and that’s okay,” you breath out, your hand dropped to cover his hand which was still resting over your heart, “You make me happy Dyn, all of you , not just what’s under the armor. I don’t know why I feel this way, but it’s like something is pushing us together, making us inseparable. And if-“ you pause not sure if you want to continue, but you do, “If you tell me that you don’t feel the same way then I’ll let you go. I won’t stop you. But I have to believe that you feel something – anything for me.” 

You let out a deep breath, afraid of what the man sitting next you will say.

“Do you really mean that? All of it?” his modulated voice comes out in a disbelieving whisper.

A small smile creeps onto your face and you squeeze his hand, “Every word.” 

He doesn’t reply immediately, and you’re not prepared for his next words, “Close your eyes.”

He sees the curiosity in your eyes before they slip shut, and you feel fear creep into your mind as he removes his hand from your chest. Is he going to leave? Did he   
ask you to close your eyes so he could slip away? 

“Keep them closed…please.” You can hear the plea in his voice and nod your head slowly showing him you heard. 

You hear faint rustling next to you and knit your brows together, eyes still closed, “Dyn what are you-“ you don’t get to finish as two warm hands slide up the sides of your face and two unfamiliar lips meet your own. You have to force your eyes shut as they wanted to open in surprise at the realization. 

Dyn was kissing you. 

The man who you were sure was just about to abandon you, who seemed to hate everything he was and who you weren’t even sure returned your feelings, was kissing you.

Once you’re brain finally processed what was happening you reach your hands up to cup his cheeks, fingers grazing the slight stubble before tangling in the short hair at the nape of his neck. Butterflies erupted in your stomach as your lips moved together surprisingly well, his warm lips moving with yours in a passionate kiss. You relished in the feeling of his lips on yours, still not fully processing this moment. His tongue slid slowly across your lips and you parted them slightly allowing him access, your heart pummeling against your rib cage. It felt like your whole body was on fire, sparks tingling your skin as his hands slipped behind your back lifting you up slightly to hold you, the cool beskar chest plate pressing against your heated skin. Then, as soon as it started it was over. He pulled away slowly, and you kept your eyes closed keeping your promise to him. You fully expected him to put his helmet on; however, you are only met with the tell tale clinking of his armor before you feel him nudge you slightly. Getting his hint, you quickly but carefully scooch over and roll on to your side, careful to avoid jostling your wound too much. You force your eyes closed tightly, fighting every urge to look behind you as you feel him slide into the small space next to you covering you both with the blanket. 

You feel his arms snake around your waist hesitantly before his face comes to rest in the crook of your neck, “Is-is this okay?” he whispers.

You can only nod, your voice failing you as his rich baritone voice reaches your ears, unmarred by the modulator in his helmet. A shiver runs up your spine as you feel his warm breath tickle your neck lightly and you move your hand to grasp his laying over your waist.

“I was afraid,” he admits quietly, finally giving you an answer to your question.

You just squeeze his hand, “I know,” you say, “I was too.”   
you feel him pull you closer to him as if you would disappear if he didn’t.

“You won’t leave again will you?” your lip wobbles slightly at the prospect of waking up alone.

“Never.” He states firmly, leaving a gentle kiss under your ear, “I promise I will never leave.”

And this time, as he watched you drift into a peaceful sleep, he truly meant it.


	8. What the Future Holds

It had been almost two months since the whole commotion with the bounty hunters and your injury, and everyone seemed to be settled back in nicely. You were almost completely healed, but still felt some pain if you moved to violently, but with Dyn being by your side the whole time, it made things a lot easier. He had seemed more relaxed since that night, since you both kissed, and the following night when you did a bit more. You flushed at the memory of Dyn slipping the blindfold over your eyes. You were brought from your thoughts when the high pitched squeal of a child pierced the air. You quickly looked down from the pot of stew you were preparing over the fire and saw the child reaching his little hands towards you. 

“What?” you asked, a smile adorning your features.

The child just smile up at you and babbles while vaguely grasping at the spoon in your hand, “Ah, you want to taste the food?” you chuckle and spoon out a small amount of soup from the pot and blow on it before leaning down and feeding him some, “here you go -hey!” you were not prepared for the child to take the spoon in his mouth and latch on like it was his life line. 

He starts to toddle away as fast as his little legs will carry him. you have to stifle the giggle as you reach out your hand using the force to stop the child mid-step. You hear him let out a muffled noise of surprise as you hold him a few feet from the ground and walk towards him. you grab hold of him, releasing your invisible grip on him and tug the spoon from his mouth.

“It’s not going to disappear little one,” you assure as you sit him down once again to return to the stew, “It will be ready soon.”

You are about to return to stirring the meal when you feel something keeping you from moving the spoon any further. You furrow your brows together and go to move your hand again but it won’t budge. You look behind you to see the kid with his hand extended and eyes closed in concentration. You laugh at his antics and it seems to snap him out of his focus. He releases his grip on you and lets out a loud giggle as he falls back to the ground. You quickly scoop him up and let him watch as you continue to cook.

“He’s getting better,” a familiar voice speaks from behind you.

You turn around, a soft smile adorning your face as you see Dyn coming to crouch by you. you stop stirring and run your fingers over the child’s ears gently, “Yeah, he is. Since I’ve been trying to teach him he seems to have more endurance when it comes to using the Force.” You comment.

Since you had started to heal, and your secret was out to the other villagers since the attack you had been using your powers more flippantly, not feeling that you had to hide anymore. You had also been attempting to teach the child, which proved difficult when he couldn’t speak, but you were making progress. As you looked down at the large eyed child in your arms you were suddenly hyper aware of the fact he doesn’t have a name. 

“We should give him a name,” you say looking over at Dyn.

You hear him heave a sigh, “I know, but I’ve never…done anything like this before.” 

You chuckle and look back down at the green creature who is now tugging at you hair, “I was thinking the name Faylen, fits him well.” You say wincing slightly as he gives a particularly hard tug.

Dyn nods slowly, “Faylen,” he test out the name, “I like it,” he brushes a gloved finger along the child’s head which earns him a happy gurgle, “so now I guess I have to stop calling him womp rat?”

You let out a loud laugh head falling back slightly, “Yes, I think that would be best.”

You obviously can’t see him through the helmet, but Dyn’s features soften as you laugh, still entranced by each and every thing you do. Your laugh, your smile, the way you scrunch your nose when your frustrated, everything about you makes Dyn fall more in love each day. It also makes him dread the reason he came over here to speak with you. as if you read his thoughts you spoke up.

“Oh, did you need something love?” you turned to face him once again.

Dyn let out a soft sigh, “I think we need to leave,” he said finally, a hint of sadness behind his words.  
Your eyebrows knit together and your heart clenches, “But why? It’s safe here, we’ve been fine here for the last few months and nothing has happened,” you tried to reason.

He shook his head and grasped your free hand in his own leather clad one, “I know but-“ he paused knowing that you liked it here, hell you had been living here for many years, “they know we’re here now and I’m just afraid that they won’t stop coming and they will come more prepared next time. I don’t want to put your people in danger any longer. And if-“ he has to force the lump in his throat away, “if you want to stay I understand, but I won’t put anyone else in danger because of my selfishness.”

You don’t say anything for a long time, you just look down at the child, and for a moment Dyn is worried that you won’t go with him, and all his plans for the future would turn to ashes. You finally look up at him a smile once again adorning your features and you squeeze his hand, “I’ve never truly felt at home here Dyn, I mean I have Ariah but she’s truly the only one who ever treated me as fully accepted here,” You glance around the small village as people mill about their days, you look back to the man you love and press a quick kiss to the metal of his helmet, “of course I’ll go with you Dyn.”

Dyn releases a huge breath as a giant smile crossed his face under his helmet, he pulls you into a tight hug causing you to let out a laugh once more, “I’m glad,” he says finally pulling away from you. 

You squeeze his hand again before returning to stirring the stew, “When were you thinking we’d leave?”

“Within the week, at least give you time to say goodbye and pack.”

You nodded, a smile still stuck in your face, “Dinner will be ready soon, why don’t you go wash up? I don’t want stinky farm hands in my house.” You tease lightly.

A chuckle escapes Dyn’s lips and he stands sending you a mock salute, “Yes ma’am,” he says before retreating to the home.

You roll your eyes and look down at the child again, before grabbing the pot from above the fire and following Dyn to the house, “What am I going to do with him?” the child just lets out a curious sound, “Yeah I don’t know either.”   
///  
At first, after you and Dyn had finally confirmed your relationship, it was odd to eat in separate rooms or facing different directions. However now it was normal, as you and Dyn sat with your backs touching and facing opposite directions. You knew it took a lot of trust on his part to do this, to be in the same room with another person without his helmet and trusting that they won’t try to look. You both ate in silence only the occasional sound of clinking silverware and sounds from the child interrupting the silence, so you were surprised when you heard Dyn moving around behind you. 

“Are you done eating already?” you had just dished out the stew so he must have been hungry.

The only response you received was two arms snaking around your waist. You gasped and quickly snapped your eyes shut as one of the hands took your bowl and set it aside, “Dyn, what are you doing?”

He doesn’t say anything as he lifts you up as if you weighed nothing and positioned you so you straddled his lap, “I just care about you so much,” he finally offers, voice cracking slightly.

With your eyes still shut you wrap your arms tightly around his midsection and lay your head in the crook of his neck, finally able to open your eyes. he speaks up again.

“I never thought that would have this,” he admits, pulling you tighter against him, “I never thought that I could wake up every day happy and excited to spend it with someone.”

You felt tears burn behind your eyes and you buried your face in his neck, “Oh Dyn,” you whispered leaving a chaste kiss to his neck, “I love you too.”

Dyn had yet to return the words, but he told you in other ways. In the words he said, or the things he did for you, or the quick kisses he would give you before you woke in the morning. You knew he loved you even if he didn’t say it directly. You continued to stay tangled together for several moments, relishing in the rare intimate moments you got to share before Faylen’s cooing brought you back to reality. You closed your eyes as he pulled away from you and donned his helmet once more. You frowned slightly as you opened your eyes and were met with the same beskar you had come to know. While you we’re not upset with him in anyway and you understood that it was The Way, you still longed to actually see the man you love. But you don’t push the subject. You look over to Faylen to see him holding his empty bowl out to you, you smiled and spooned a second helping into the small bowl and giggled as the child cooed happily.

“You know, for a tiny little thing he eats more than you do,” you comment.

Dyn lets out a chuckle and nods, “Yes he does, and I don’t even want to know what his appetite will look like when he gets older.”

You feign a shiver, “we’ll go broke trying to feed our kid,” you joked but stopped short when you say Dyn go rigid. You look to him questioningly.  
“Our kid?” 

Your eyes widen at the realization of what you said but then relaxed and you shrugged, “Well yeah. We’re together and we both take care of him, we’ve basically adopted him so…” you trailed off now self-conscious of your slip up.  
But Dyn just hums lowly before picking up Faylen careful not to spill his food, “our kid…I could get used to the sound of that.”

You blush and duck to start cleaning up the dishes, silently admitting that you liked the sound of it as well.  
///  
The end of the week had come sooner than you had anticipated and you watched with a slightly heavy yet hopeful heart as Jaleer and some of the other villagers helped Dyn load up the razor crest with your belongings. You had donned your cloak, staff slung over your shoulder. 

“I’m going to miss you so much!” Ariah nearly knocks you over as she throws her arms around you, squeezing the life out of you. you hug her back just as fiercely, 

“There’s nothing that says we won’t visit, or that you can’t visit us.” You assure.

You friend pulls away tears in her eyes, “I know…but now who’s going to help me put Jaleer in his place?” she whines.

You laugh and see Jaleer approach from the ship and sling an arm your shoulders, he had seemed to warm up to both you and Dyn after the whole Chroig ordeal.

“Well I for one am thankful for one less pest hanging around,” he jests rubbing your head playfully. You groan and shove his arms off of you, “Whatever you say Jaleer,   
I know you’re secretly going to cry when I leave.”

Jaleer rolled his eyes but brought you into a hug anyway, “You know you will always have a home here. If you ever need it.” 

You nodded as you pulled away from Jaleer, not missing the newfound respect in his eyes, “I know.”

Dyn walks over and places a hand your waist, “Everything’s ready to go,” he looks over to Jaleer, “thank you again for letting me stay here, and I’m sorry for any ill I may have caused.”

Jaleer shook his head and shook the Mandalorians hand firmly, “Like I said, you both are welcome back anytime. Don’t be strangers.” 

Dyn just nods before he looks to you, “You ready?”

You nod a smile creeping onto your face as you hug Ariah one last time before walking with Dyn onto the ship. You wave to the other villagers as they call out various well wishes before the ramp to the ship hisses closed, a certain finality behind it. You let out a small sigh and turn to see Dyn climbing up a ladder and you follow suit, you had never been on his ship until now surprisingly. You watched as he took a seat in the piolets chair and started up the ship. You looked around spotting   
Faylen sitting in one of the chairs and smiled before picking him up and placing him on your lap as you took his seat. 

“So where are we headed? How long will it take us to get there?” you ask.

“It’s actually fairly close, but it’s a surprise.”

“Oh a surprise?” you wiggled your eyebrows, “What has come over you Dyn?”

The Mandalorian just shrugged his shoulders not giving you a definite answer before the ships lifts from the ground. You look out the window as the trees and landscape shrinks further and further away until you are among the stars. Even though you had been in space several times it never ceased to amaze you. You watched as the stars turned into blue-sliver streaks as the ship launched into hyperdrive and it felt like mere seconds before you were dropping out of it. When in reality it had been close to an hour, you were just too deep in though to realize. The planet you were approaching was not as green as you previous planet but it still had some green, with some brown and orange mixed in. And if you thought it couldn’t get any better your breath was sucked from your lungs as Dyn landed the ship near a small cottage nestled among rolling hills and plains. You held onto the child as Dyn grasped your hand and led you from the ship and towards the small, what looked to be a farm. As you approached the small cottage you felt tears well in your eyes, you had never seen a planet so beautiful and calm before. Apparently Faylen agreed because he seemed to let out and awe filled gasp. 

“How did you – where did you-“you stumbled over your words, still In shock as you looked at the man beside you. 

He shuffled nervously under your gaze, “I still have some connections with a friend that’s still with the Mandalorian’s and she was able to do this for me, for us.” You saw him raise his hands and grasp the rim of the helmet to remove it. 

You once again close your eyes, confused as to why he was doing this now. You held Faylen tightly as you grasped for Dyn blindly, unable to find him.

“Dyn what are you doing?” You hear shuffling for a brief moment before a short stint of silence.

“Open your eyes.” his unmodulated voice meets your ears and confusion flow through you.

“But your helmet Dyn, I can’t-“

“Just open them,” he insists, “Please.”

You feel your heart racing, blood rushing in your ears. You were about to see Dyn, actually see him, and for a moment you were scared. This would ruin The Way. He wouldn’t be able to put the helmet back on again. But he’s asking you -no – begging you to look. 

So you do.

You slowly peel your eyes open and your hand immediately shoots to your mouth to stifle the gasp that slips out. You quickly scan his face and immediately feel your heart flutter at the handsome man kneeling in front of you. His brown locks tousled from removing his helmet, and dark stubble adorning his face and warm brown eyes looking up at you, a nervous fear in his eyes – wait – Kneeling!

Your brain finally registers what is happening as you see the simple silver rings held delicately between two ungloved fingers. You look from the ring back to Dyn, your brain still trying to catch up with what is happening. But Dyn speaks before you can.

“(Y/N), I had a whole speech planned out, but as soon as you looked at me it flew out the window,” he chuckled nervously before clearing his throat, “You are the love of my life, you have brought me so much happiness and life since the day you saved me in those woods, and I know that we haven’t known each other that –“

“Oh shut up, you idiot, “ you blubber past your tears, “Of course I will!” you throw your free arm around him careful not to squish Faylen, as you nearly knock the man over. 

Tears are streaming down your face as Dyn gently pulls away from you, his thumbs wiping away the wet tracks on your face. A watery smile crosses his face as he takes your hand in his own, slipping the ring over your finger. You let out a breathy chuckle before looking at you future husband and crash your lips to his for what felt like the first time. Dyn smiles into the kiss as your lips move in sync, and it feels like fire is running through his veins. He pulls away from you somewhat reluctantly and rest his forehead on your own, and you rest your newly decorated hand on his cheek, a wide smile on your face once more.

“I love you Dyn Jarren.” 

And for the first time Dyn says it back.


	9. Epilogue

_“you are a dead man Dyn,” you panted out sweat dripping from your forehead as another painful contraction hit._

_Dyn winced visible as you squeezed his hand and chuckled nervously, “Well, in my defense it wasn’t just my fault.”_

_You shot him a vicious glare and opened your mouth to reply but the only sound that managed to slip out was a loud groan as you pressed your head back into the pillow._

_“Okay”, the midwife stated, “It’s time to start pushing, when the next contraction hits push as hard as you can.” She instructs gently._

_You nod, once again squeezing Dyn’s hand as the next contraction hits._

_After what felt like hours but was in actuality only several minutes, a shrill cry filled the room. You gasped in relief and joy as you heard the cry of your first child, but a wave if exhaustion fills you as you realize you still have one to go. You and Dyn were having twins._

_“It’s a girl!” you hear Dyn exclaim, tears filling his eyes as he looks down at your daughter and your heart swells at the sight. You don’t get to dwell too long on the fact before another contraction hits and you are once again focused on the task at hand. You see the midwife quickly take the child from Dyn’s arms and set her in a nearby crib before turning back to you._

_“Okay, one more to go, you’re doing great sweetheart,” the woman encourages._

_You nod, ready to finally be done with this whole pregnancy thing, and give another push as a contraction hits. out of the corner of your eye you see Dyn move slightly next to the midwife to apparently see what was going on when his face drains of all color. Your eyes widen as you realize what’s about to happen and you reach a hand out instinctively knowing full well he was out of reach. You watch in slight panic as your usually stoic and collected husband faints and falls to the floow in an ungraceful heap._

_“Dyn!”_

“Dyn!”

Dyn is startled from the memory at your voice, an amused smile on his face, “Yes?” he looks up from tending the field as you approach him, wiping your hands on your apron, a curious glint in your eye.

“What has you so happy?” you ask giving him a quick peck to the lips.

He chuckles and sets down his tool before resting his hands on your hips, “I was just thinking back to the day the kids we’re born and I fainted in the middle of it.”

Your head fell back as you let out a loud laugh, “Yes I remember that very well,” you say resting your hands on the back of his neck twirling the short strands that rested there, “The infamous Mandalorian bounty hunter fainted at the sight of some blood.” You tease.

“It was way more than just blood,” he said defensively. 

You chuckled and went to give him another kiss but three familiar figures barreled into both of your legs.

“Daddy! Daddy, look what Momma taught us to do!” Dyn pulled away from you, still holding you by his side as he watched his two children take a few steps back.

Dyn watched expectantly, thoroughly intrigued by what Cara and Kuiil had to show him. Faylen was still standing next to you, little hands grasping your skirts as he too watched in curiosity. When the children were born, you had struggled with what to name them, but after having heard the many stories of Dyn’s friends and accomplices Cara Dune and Kuiil, you both decided to name them accordingly. Both of you were surprised to find out that not one but both of your children were force sensitive. Something that, while it was a blessing and you enjoyed teaching them, could be a handful for Dyn sometimes. Being in a family full of force users and not being one himself could prove challenging at times, especially when it came to the kids tendencies to be kids and play practical jokes. You watched as your two children faced towards the field of crops. They each raised a hand and you watched with a knowing grin as the pulled several of the carrots out of the ground and into the air, before setting them neatly in a pile off to the side. They turned excitedly to Dyn awaiting his reaction eagerly.

“Wow!” he rushes over the small children and scooped them up into his arms kissing them both on the cheek, “That was incredible!”

“Now we can help you with your chores!” Kuiil offered, overjoyed at the prospect of spending time with his father. 

You watched with a content smile on your face as the twins continued babbling excitedly with Dyn, him going along with it. A small coo pulled your attention down to Faylen who was holding a small ball towards you, eyes pleading. You chuckled and picked him up, calling over to his siblings.

“Cara, Kuiil,” you called, drawing their attention from Dyn and onto you and Faylen, “I think Faylen wants to play for a little bit before dinner.”

Cara and Kuiil quickly squirm from Dyn;s grasp, “Yes! Let’s go Faylen!” Cara takes the small child from your arms and runs with Kuiil to the small clearing in front of your house. 

Kuiil and Cara were now 6 years old, and it seemed like Faylen hadn’t aged at all yet he was much older than them. He was started to learn some words but it was very choppy and slow, much like the twins were two years old. But the kids loved him all the same and treated him no differently. 

Dyn gently grasps your hand and leads you over to sit on the steps leading to the house. You lean into his side and release a soft sigh, sinking into his embrace. He places a soft kiss onto your head before returning to watching the children toss the ball back and forth.

“Something on your mind?” he asks softly.

You smile and look up to press your lips to his, an action he gladly returns.

You pull away and lean back into his side, your head resting on his shoulder as you both watch the children play, “Just thinking about how lucky I am to be married to you, and to have a family with you.” you admit contentedly. 

Dyn pulls you tighter against him, “I think I should be saying that to you,” he argues, “When I found Faylen in that building all those years ago I never imagined our journey would lead to you – to this,” he gestures from you to your children, “This is never something I saw in my future. I thought my future would be living out of my ship and I thought I would meet my end with blaster fire.” 

You frowned and grasped his hand in yours intertwining your fingers, “We’ll you didn’t,” you state, “Now your stuck with me until we grow all old and wrinkly and have grey hair.” You jest.

Dyn chuckles and looks down to your intertwined hands, stroking his thumb over your wedding ring gently, “That doesn’t sound so bad to me.” 

You smile and lean your head against his shoulder, “me either…I love you Dyn.”

“I love you too.” He whispers lovingly.

You both sit in a contended silence as you watch your children roll around in the grass, ball long forgotten as they play together, the sun sinking low in the sky. For so long, both you and Dyn had been hiding. Hiding from your past, hiding from one another, just hiding from everything because that was easier than facing the unknown. But now, as you both sat next to the person you loved most, happy screams filling the air, you both came to the realization that you were free. 

No longer hidden, but truly and finally free.


End file.
